In April,1974, the council of American Witches adopted a set of Principles of Wiccan Belief,
Please read them carefully:
- We practice rites to attune
ourselves with the natural rhythm of
life forces marked by the phases of the
Moon and the seasonal Quarters and Cross
Quarters.
- We recognize that our intelligence
gives us a unique responsibility toward
our environment.We seek to live in
harmony with Nature,in ecological
balance offering fulfillment to life and
consciousness within an evolutionary
concept.
- We acknowledge a depth of power far
greater than that apparent to the
average person.Because it is far greater
than the ordinary it it sometimes called
SUPERNATURAL,but we see it as lying
within that which is naturally potential
to all.
- We concieve of the Creative Power in
the universe as manifesting through
polarity~as masculine and feminine~and
that this Creative Power lies in all
people,and functions through the
interaction of the masculine and
feminine.We value neither above the
other,knowing each to be supportive to
the other.We value sex as pleasure,as
the symbol and embodiment of life,and as
one of the sources of energies used in
magickal practice and religious
worship.
- We recognize both outer worlds and
inner,or psychological,worlds sometimes
known as the Spiritual World,the
Collective Unconscious,Inner Planes,
etc.~and we see in the inter-action of
these two dimensions the basic for
paranormal phenomena and magickal
exercises.We neglect neither dimension
for the other,seeing both as necessary
for our fulfillment.
- We do not recognize any
authoritarian hierarchy,but do honor
those who teach,respect those who share
their greater knowledge and wisdom,and
acknowledge those who have courageously
given of themselves in leadership.
- We see religion,magick and wisdom in
living as being united in the way one
views the world and lives within it~a
world view and philosophy of life which
we identify as Witchcraft~the Wiccan
Way.
- Calling oneself WITCH does not make
a witch~but neither does heredity
itself,nor the collecting of
titles,degrees,and initiations.A Witch
seeks to control the forces within
her/himself that make life possible in
order to live wisely and well without
harm to others and in harmony with
Nature.
- We believe in affirmation and
fulfillment of life in a consciousness
giving meaning to the Universe we know
and our personal role within it.
- Our only animosity towards
Christianity,or towards any other
religion or philosophy of life,is to the
extent that its institutions have
claimed to be the only way and have
sought to deny freedom to others and to
suppress other ways of religious
practice and belief.
- As American Witches,we are not
threatened by debates on the history of
the Craft, the origins of the various
terms,the legitimacy of various aspects
of different traditions.We are concerned
with our present and our future.
- We do not accept the concept of
absolute evil,nor do we worship any
entity known as Satan or the Devil,as
defined by the Christan tradition.We do
not seek power through the suffering of
others,nor accept the personal benefit
can be derived only by denial to
another.
- We believe that we should seek
within Nature that which is contributory
to our health and well-being.
- THE WICCAN REDE:
"An it harm none,do what thou wilt"
- THE WICCAN REDE: